Common Injuries School Children Have and How to Prevent Them
Do you know that at least 500 primary school kids get twists and slight injuries every year? That is a huge number and as a school teacher who spends much time with the kids, you need to take precautionary measures and avoid injuries at school. Most of the injuries are not severe and include slight bruises and knocks. Nevertheless, a severe injury might happen and it is something you don’t want to happen in your facility. In this article, we describe some of the common injuries and how you should prevent them.
1. Ankle Injuries
Twisted ankles and sprains present some of the most common injuries in school going children. You have been on the receiving end of these injuries in your school days, right? You know how easy it is to get an ankle sprain. Simple physical activities such as running on an uneven surface could cause ankle sprain. Hilly spots and playground equipment can also cause ankle twits and sprains. To prevent this, you need to make sure that playgrounds are flat and smooth. Flatten all the hills and remove anything that may make the playground uneven.
2. Knee Injuries
Since time immemorial, knees have been the most common sites of playground bruises and scrapes. Sliding on the ground, shoving, and falling causes some pretty painful injuries, some of which range from severe problems and bleeding that may require immediate doctor’s attention. Some of the most sensitive parts of the knee, such as ligaments, cartilage and tendons are likely to be strained or torn during sporting activities. The best prevention strategy is ensuring that kids warm up before participating in sports. You can also warn the kids not to slide on bumpy playgrounds.
3. Head Injuries
Head injuries are severe and should always be treated with the seriousness they deserve. A slight elbow on the head in a basketball match could cause concussions and brain injuries. School children are likely to collide head-on, especially is fierce class matches. Sometimes a child might knock his head by running into a flag pole. Most children are not aware that head injuries are critical, and they don’t care. As a teacher, you should always be prepared to handle a severe head injury through emergencies and school ambulances. You can also make it clear why children should take caution and avoid even slight head injuries.
4. Wrist Injuries
If school children fall on the playground, their most instinct is to reach out and brace themselves with their hands. Psychologists highlight that humans use their hands to brace as an intuitive method of preventing head injuries. However, although hands play a vital role in preventing injuries to critical parts of the bodies, they experience massive injuries as well. Wrists become sore, twisted, and may break. As a teacher, you should caution the school children against running aimlessly around the school compound to avoid wrist injuries.
As a teacher, you have to understand that school children don’t understand anything about safety. Most of them don’t know how they can avoid injuries. Therefore, you have to keep close attention to the children so that you can respond swiftly in case of injuries.
